Nigeria leader vows 'total war' on Boko Haram as attacks kill 35

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan Thursday vowed “total war against terrorism” following last month’s mass abduction of schoolgirls by Boko Haram Islamists amid news of attacks in three border villages that claimed 35 lives. Jonathan said in an address marking 15 years since the return of civilian rule to Nigeria that no efforts would be spared to rescue the more than 200 girls kidnapped from a school in the northeastern town of Chibok in Borno state on April 14. “I am determined to protect our democracy, our national unity and our political stability by waging a total war against terrorism,” he said. But on the same day as his vow to end the violence a military source and residents said Boko Haram had killed 35 people in separate attacks on three villages near the border with Cameroon, opening fire on villagers and torching homes.